


One Look Can Change Your Heart

by icandrawamoth



Series: YOI Polyship Week [7]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Crushes, M/M, Multi, POV Katsuki Yuuri, POV Multiple, POV Victor Nikiforov, POV Yuri Plisetsky, Polyamory, Post-Season/Series 01, Pre-Poly, YOI Polyship Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 04:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11456130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: Victor understands, really he does: competitive skating is demanding. It takes more out of a person than many might realize. But he has to insist that there's still time for a life outside of that, has to do what he can to not let anyone realize it as late as he did. He can't let Yuri make his mistakes.





	One Look Can Change Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Written for YOI Polyship Week day seven prompt "gains and losses."

_For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?_  
Mark 8:36

For most of his life, Victor gave attention to nothing but skating. He lived for the glow of the lights on the ice, that feeling of flying, the crackle of the crowd's energy as they cheered. Medals and accolades piled up, and for awhile it made him happy. He focused on his never-ending quest to surprise the audience, succeeding far more often than not, all the while ignoring the growing void in his chest, the niggling feeling that his life was missing something.

Then came the Grand Prix Final banquet in Sochi and his fateful run-in with Yuuri Katsuki. That moment, a single unexpected connection, changed his whole life, sent him down a path he never would have guessed for himself yet one he would never give back for anything.

Though skating is still there, his fiance is now the most important thing in his life. In fact, loving Yuuri has improved Victor's skating, if he says so himself. All these emotions he's never felt before contribute to his art in unexpected and beautiful ways.

And yet, even as he's so very happy, Victor is keeping his eye on Yuri Plisetsky. The young up-and-comer from his own country has had his attention for a long time, and not only for his impressive skill. Yuri reminds him of himself in many ways; sometimes the resemblance is so close it scares him. Yuri puts everything he has toward his skating, body, mind, and soul. He spends every possible moment in the rink, and the vast majority of his time off it is still working on his sport.

And part of Victor understands, really he does: competitive skating is demanding. It takes more out of a person than many might realize. But he has to insist that there's still time for a life outside of that, has to do what he can to not let anyone realize it as late as he did. He can't let Yuri make his mistakes.

* * *

Little does Victor know that Yuri is already getting there himself. Even as he pushes himself further and further to the edge of his limits, running and lifting weights and spinning and jumping, he knows he's missing out. He's fully aware this isn't the kind of life other teenagers live. In the past, he's had acquaintances (he could never really call them “friends”) from school invite him to one thing or another, but he' s almost always had to say no in favor of training or competitions. Eventually, they stopped asking.

And if friends were bad, the very small number of people he'd ever had romantic interest in didn't have a chance either. The one time he had dared to go out with a girl, his fans had driven her off almost immediately. It's not like he's never marveled at his fellow competitors either, their skills on the ice as attractive as their bodies. But he doesn't think he could handle a long distance relationship, and who would want to fraternize with the enemy like that, anyway?

Victor Nikiforov, that's who. The way he runs off to coach the Japanese pig is disgusting. Conflict of interest much? But even as he gags theatrically and rolls his eyes, Yuri has half an eye on them whenever he can. Victor and Yuuri grow close quickly, and as jealous as Yuri is of the attention Victor pays his new student, it's not just over the mentorship.

Victor and Yuuri are in love. It's plain to anyone who sees them. If his rage at Victor abandoning the rink for Yuuri burns hot, his jealously of both of them and the way they work so perfectly together both on the ice and off is just as blistering.

And when Yuuri moves to Saint Petersburg after the Grand Prix Final, it only gets worse. Now they're in the rink with him constantly, being all lovey-dovey and unbearable, and there's nowhere to go to escape but into his work. So Yuri throws himself into skating even harder than before, ignoring everything outside his routines and workouts, praying that if he can beat both Victor _and_ Katsudon in the next competition, he'll feel just a little better.

* * *

It's Yuuri who figures everything out. One day as practice is drawing to a close he's at the boards as Victor gives him a few suggestions for his axel technique then finishes by reaching out to snap his cheek in a gloved hand and reel him in a for a gentle kiss. Yuuri smiles into it, his cheeks still going a bit pink even though he's long used to this kind of public affection. Midway through, he spots Yuri out of the corner of his eye, looking at them. He extricates himself from Victor as Yakov approaches from the other side to have a word with his coach and turns to ask what the younger skater wants. But as he meets Yuri's eyes, the expression he sees on the Russian's face isn't anything like what he'd expected to see: instead of disgust or frustration, he sees what looks like _longing._ Hunger, almost.

As soon as Yuri sees him looking, his walls come crashing down as he turns and skates quickly away, red-faced. Yuuri blinks after him, trying to process what's just happened. That open, vulnerable look on the younger skater's face is etched in his mind, and it plagues him all throughout the ride home, as he and Victor take Makkachin for a walk and make supper together, until his fiance asks what he's so distracted by.

It feels wrong somehow to discuss what he's seen, but Yuuri is inexplicably worried for his new rinkmate. He's heard Victor's own concerns about Yuri's work-life balance, and now something nebulous is starting to come together in Yuuri's mind. Haltingly, he asks Victor about it. Victor is surprised, clearly not having expected this, but his expression soon turns thoughtful. They discuss long into the night, and when they finally go to bed, they have a plan.

* * *

Yuri spends the entire night cursing himself. He was supposed to be concentrating on skating, not that couple. Certainly not letting himself get caught ogling. Even Katsudon isn't stupid enough to not understand the imbecilic mooning look that had been on Yuri's face, and now his embarrassing crush is public knowledge, because he expects no less than for the pig to share everything with his fiance.

Yuri groans as he presses his face into his pillow. He doesn't even want to go to the rink. He doesn't want to face them, though he knows Yakov will kill him if he doesn't show up. And it's not like he _actually_ has the luxury of skipping. The best he can do is totally ignore the lovestruck couple and hope it blows over. He can pray Katsuki has the good graces to play the denial game as well.

No such luck. Victor and Yuuri are acting strangely from the moment he walks into the rink, both of them already there, greeting him warmly with friendly touches on the arm. Yuri mutters something back and makes a quick escape, trying to not to shiver at the contact.

It doesn't stop there. Every moment he's not actively being coached by Yakov, Yuuri is trying to catch his eye, smiling and waving encouragement as Victor stands with an arm around him, clearly on the same page. Yuri doesn't understand what's happening. Are they teasing him? His ears grow hot with the thought, but it's more embarrassment than rage – more disappointment than surprise. It's not like he ever expected anything from them on that front, honestly, he tells himself. Besides, with the stupid crush dead and buried, he'll be able to focus more fully on his career.

For the first time in recent memory, practice feels excruciatingly long. When it finally ends, Yuri makes his best attempt to slip out without encountering the other two, but to no avail. Katsudon cuts him off at the door to the locker room with perhaps the brightest smile he's shown all day.

“Come home with us,” he says. “Victor's making piroshki. That's your favorite, isn't it?”

Yuri squints at him, planting his hands on his hips. “What are you doing, Katsuki?”

Yuuri just keeps on smiling. “Inviting you over for dinner. I thought that was pretty clear.”

Yuri bristles. “You don't have to tease me. What happened yesterday was stupid, okay? I get it. It won't happen again.” He can feel his face getting hot, but what Yuuri is doing just isn't fair.

The other skater has the audacity to look surprised. “I'm not teasing you.”

Yuri grunts. “Well, it's not like you're asking me on a date or anything.” The words make his chest clench, but this is the kind of petulance he always retreats to when he's backed into a corner. It's safe.

Yuuri's eyes go wide and kind, sincere in a way that hurts. “Have you considered that it is?” he asks. “It is me asking you on date. _Us_ , asking you on a date.”

Yuri's world implodes. His mouth works frantically, but there are no words.

Katsuki's eyes sparkle as he takes Yuri's hand and tugs him toward where Victor is waiting. “I'll take that as a yes. We'll see what happens, okay?”

When Yuri's brain finishes short-circuiting and he manages to process that his most secret, guilty dream has actually come true, he thinks he'll agree to that.


End file.
